Cade surveyed his potential allies, such as they were. Thirteen people, including him. Enough to defend an entire fort? Time would tell.
He had given each of them a sword, which had earned him some goodwill so far. Sufficient goodwill to get them to all sit and hear him out, while the boat remained anchored on shore. So he stood there, trying to look confident.
‘By now you will have all heard what the Codex, and Quintus, have told us. The world is at stake. The Romans have almost lost the game we’ve been brought here to play, and we’re all that’s left of the contenders. If we don’t return to the Keep, everyone we have ever loved will die. Our entire species, bar what survives on this planet, will die. I believe them.’
He looked them each in the eye as he spoke, trying to convince them of his conviction. Most avoided his gaze. Only Amber returned it with any semblance of agreement, while others looked away or had eyes filled with scepticism.
‘Thanks to the arrival of Amber, Grace, Bea and Trix, and our new swords, I think we have a fighting chance. What I’m asking you now is … will you come with me?’
He paused, perhaps somewhat dramatically.
Spex was the first to speak. ‘I don’t think any of us can deny what we’ve seen here. It is entirely possible that the … people … that brought us here could destroy the Earth if they wanted to. They have the technology. And it seems, given what they’ve made us do so far, that they might be willing to do it.’
‘Is there anyone here who doubts this?’ Cade asked.
Finch raised his hand, joined by Gobbler, and after a hissed word from Finch, Jim followed suit. Yoshi reluctantly raised his own hand, as did Eric with an apologetic smile. A moment later, Grace did the same. Trix, and then, following a nudge from her sister, Bea followed suit.
Damn. Eight against five.
And one of the five was Quintus. Did the others even think the Roman should have a vote?
‘Well then, let me try a different argument,’ Cade said. ‘That it’s better to go to the Keep anyway, even if losing the game has no consequence.’
‘How do you figure that?’ Grace asked.
Cade had expected them to doubt the end of the world, and had spent some time thinking on it. Now it was time to see if it sounded as good in reality as it did in his head.
‘Not all of you know this, but the girls and I were captured by some men, out there in the jungle,’ Cade said. ‘Cruel, violent men, who I suspect planned to keep us as slaves. And there are loads of them. Maybe hundreds, hunting for people just like us.’
‘Are you serious?’ Scott asked, looking at the girls.
Amber nodded grimly. ‘We were lucky to escape,’ she said. ‘And after what happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re specifically looking for us now. They seemed pretty angry.’
‘Well … damn,’ Yoshi said. ‘Do you have any idea who they are?’
‘No,’ Cade said. ‘But whoever they are, they’re bad news.’
‘It just keeps getting better,’ Eric said, rubbing tired eyes.
‘And let’s not forget the freaking dinosaurs,’ Cade said. ‘Scott, Finch, Spex and I almost became dino food today. I’ve had a grand total of three deadly encounters with the animals in as many days, and each time I survived by the skin of my teeth.’
He yanked up his pant legs for dramatic effect, showing the shallow bite marks on his calf, each one a half-circle like that of a shark. It was the first time any of the others had seen them, and it looked far worse than it was. Bea looked a little paler, while Spex leaned forward, pushing his glasses up his nose in fascination.
‘How long do you think we’d survive?’ Cade asked. ‘A week? Two?’
‘We could live on this,’ Finch muttered. ‘Anchor ourselves in the middle of the river.’
‘Could we?’ Cade snapped. ‘What about the river monsters that live in these waters? Or the dinosaurs that can swim? I can tell you right now, raptors can.’
Finch simply lifted his chin in defiance.
‘That fruit we just ate,’ Cade said, pointing at the sacks of fruit that still remained on the boat. ‘Where did that come from? Do you see orchards of apple trees and fields of wheat out here?’
‘We’d live off the dinosaurs,’ Finch said. ‘That Roman dude is doing OK.’
‘Quintus is a crack shot with a sling, unlike us, and he is certainly not OK,’ Cade said, trying and failing to keep his voice calm.
Noticing they were all looking at him, Quintus glanced up from the fig he had been devouring and smiled at them through the red pulp that coated his face. He popped the last of it in his mouth, groaning with pleasure. Bea edged away from him.
‘Look at him, he’s as skinny as a rake,’ Cade said, pointing at the boy’s thin legs sticking out beneath the leather and red-cloth skirt he wore along with his tunic. ‘He spends his days holed up in a small room inside a crumbling temple, living off the vermin he can hit with his sling. He’s slowly starving to death.’
‘Yeah, but he didn’t go back to the Keep,’ Finch said. ‘Because he knows it’s more dangerous.’
Cade bit back his reply. They had already covered this in the temple.
‘But he is going back now,’ he replied, crossing his arms.
Finch opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Gotcha.
‘At the Keep, there’s food enough to feed an entire legion, let alone the thirteen of us,’ Cade went on. ‘There’s walls to protect us. Beds to sleep in, roofs to shelter us. Baths, toilets, clean water. More contenders could join us there, sent there by these “gods”, as Quintus calls them. And lastly …’
He paused, hoping to make his closing statement as impactful as possible.
‘We might just find out what the hell is going on … and work out how to get home.’
Cade let that sink in, hoping that they shared the same curiosity and desires he had. He could see the cogs turning in their heads, considering their options. It was working. They had to see reason. They just had to.
He saw Finch preparing to say something, but Cade cut him off.
‘Or would you rather live out your existence starving to death in a dank hole, waiting to get captured or eaten, living with the knowledge that you might have doomed our world to destruction, and still never knowing why you were brought here in the first place?’
That did it. In all honesty, Cade hadn’t even been sure if it was the right decision before he’d made that speech. Somehow, he had convinced himself.
‘I say we put it to a vote,’ Cade said. ‘Majority rules.’
‘Fine,’ Finch said, standing. ‘But the Roman doesn’t count.’
He smiled at the others, and for a moment he almost looked friendly. The boy was guileful as a rattlesnake and twice as deadly.
‘Everyone who wants to go to the Keep, raise your hand. Simple as that.’
He kept his arms crossed, looking each one in the eye, just as Cade had. It was a sly trick, to make them vote for Cade’s plan. People who were unsure were far more likely to leave their hand down than raise it. It would feel less like a decision.
Then, to Cade’s surprise, Amber stood too, staring down Finch with a cool gaze.
‘Whatever happens, I’m going with Cade,’ she said, raising her hand.
Cade gave her a relieved smile. Another surprise followed, with timid Bea being the next to raise her hand. Now it was Trix’s turn to be nudged by her sister. With all three of the other girls raising their hands, Grace sighed and followed their lead.
The girls weren’t even contenders. They weren’t even supposed to be a part of the game. Yet here they were, volunteering to fight. Cade’s respect for them grew a great deal in that moment. They had more courage than half the boys on this boat. Maybe all of them, including him.
‘I’m with you,’ Eric said. ‘I doubt that Earth is going to be destroyed, especially as this game seems to have been going on so long. But … I’d rather not risk it. And I think we’ve as much cha
nce of dying out here as we do in the Keep.’
Six against six. Just one more!
But the remaining boys kept silent.
‘I don’t know,’ Yoshi said, his knee bobbing nervously. ‘It seems most people don’t want to go with you … and I’m not sure enough to swing the vote.’
‘Yeah,’ Scott said simply.
Spex nodded silently. He avoided Cade’s gaze, ashamed to be siding with Finch.
‘Well, well, well,’ Finch said, rubbing his hands gleefully. ‘Even these bozos agree with me. Let’s—’
‘Hang on,’ Jim said.
The boy had been staring at his hands throughout, but Cade had barely paid attention to him, expecting him to vote with Finch. Jim looked up at Cade, and there was a gleam in his eye that Cade had never seen before.
‘I’ll go,’ he said.
‘Seriously?’ Gobbler growled, turning to Jim and pressing his face close. But Jim ignored him, even as Finch spun and fixed him with a glare of pure malice.
‘I want to fight,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to live this way.’
He stood and went to sit opposite Finch and Gobbler.
‘I’ve had enough,’ he said. ‘And if there’s even a chance that winning this thing will let me go home, I’m going to take it.’
‘So,’ Cade said, the look of pure rage on Finch’s face the only thing keeping a smile from his own. ‘Yoshi, if you would be so kind.’
Yoshi jumped up and turned the key, muttering a prayer under his breath. But it seemed whatever god was watching over them was feeling generous, the key turning over and the engine roaring into life. The yacht was soon juddering back into the river, while Spex took the initiative of pulling in the rusted old anchor. And then the Codex spoke.
‘I’m sorry, Cade, but I must inform you that only contenders may take part in the qualifying round.’
Its voice rang out through the cabin, the volume seemingly increased to be heard over the thunder of the engine. Cade felt his knees weaken. Just when he thought he had fixed everything, this world seemed to manage to pick it apart. But Amber was swift to reply.
‘How does one become a contender?’ she asked, holding up a hand to silence the panicked words starting on the others’ lips.
‘Volunteer,’ the Codex intoned.
‘We volunteer,’ Amber said.
‘Do you know what that even means?’ Grace groaned.
‘Please confirm: Amber Lin, Grace Jelani, Bea Prescott and Trix Prescott volunteer to become contenders.’
‘You’re signing your own death warrants,’ Finch warned, clearly still hoping to reverse the decision. ‘You’ll die, just like us.’
Amber didn’t hesitate.
‘I confirm,’ she said.
She turned, looking at the others.
‘I confirm,’ Grace said, shaking her head in defeat.
‘I confirm,’ Bea and Trix agreed after her.
‘Confirmed,’ the Codex said.
Cade allowed himself to sit, groaning with relief at both the comfort and the girls’ decision. He had disliked Amber when they had first met. Now he owed her more than he could rightly understand.
Finch sat down too, his face a picture of fury. His eyes were fixed on Jim, even as he avoided Cade’s gaze. The betrayal had been absolute. Cade had always thought Finch’s embarrassment would have amused him, but seeing the results only sent an icy chill down his spine.
Still, as the Witchcraft chugged back up the river and the jungle slipped by, Cade could not help but allow himself a brief moment to relish his change in fortune. Finally, things were going his way.
He could only hope it would last.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Cade watched the jungle’s edge glide by, searching for words that might break the grim quiet as the Witchcraft cruised upriver. Barely a word had been spoken since their vote, though anger still simmered.
The reality of their situation had dawned on them just a few minutes into the ride, made all the more obvious by the sinister timer ticking incessantly down. Cade sat with Quintus in the back, and though they could not speak, the silence between them was not an awkward one. There was something about the legionary’s presence that put Cade at ease.
It was slow going, moving against the river’s flow. Yoshi was also wary of taxing the antique vessel any more than they had to, and so the Witchcraft chugged along at what felt like snail’s pace, anchoring by the shore at times to prevent the old motor from overheating.
Still, Cade knew they would make it back with time to spare. Already he could see the waterfall ahead and feel the mist it cast on his skin. Soon enough they were passing into the stump-filled clearing and anchoring themselves on the plunge pool’s bank. Cade looked over at the timer as the group leaped on to the land.
01:23:56:02
01:23:56:01
01:23:56:00
Not long to prepare, and it would be dark soon. They wouldn’t get much done at night. Even if they could, they needed to balance that with being well rested for battle.
‘What’s the plan then, oh great leader?’ Scott said, giving Cade an exaggerated salute. ‘Perhaps you can rustle up some rocket launchers to go along with these swords?’
Leader?
‘Not my leader,’ Finch muttered. He shoulder-banged Cade as he walked past.
Cade ignored him. Finch was a problem for later, but for now he needed him. Another fighter, however reluctant, could make all the difference.
But Eric wasn’t having it.
‘You can leave, you know,’ Eric said, stepping in front of Finch and nodding to the gloom of the forest edge.
Finch glowered, his hand straying to his sword, but Eric’s looming presence made him think twice. He stalked off, and Gobbler scurried behind him.
The rest of them followed, picking their way through the field of tree stumps and heading for the cave entrance at the bottom of the mountains. Behind them, the forest loomed high, and Cade was glad to be leaving it. It would be a relief to find a comfortable place to sleep once more. For a while, at least.
Cade saw Jim shaking his head. He was listening to Finch berate Gobbler, taking his anger out on him.
‘Finch always was a coward,’ Jim said, nodding towards the pair. ‘But a vicious one. He only fights when he knows he can win. Kicks you when you’re down, stabs you when you’re not looking.’
‘You would know,’ Spex said, stony-faced.
Jim couldn’t meet his gaze.
‘I’m sorry about that,’ he said. ‘You don’t know how much I regret it. It keeps me up at night, thinking of what I’ve done.’
‘Oh yeah,’ Spex said, his words dripping with sarcasm. ‘I bet you lost sleep over it.’
‘If I could take it back, I would,’ Jim said, his voice almost a whisper.
Spex ignored him.
‘So why’d you hang out with them?’ Yoshi asked, the edge of accusation plain in his voice. ‘If you hate Finch so much.’
‘I was scared of him. Scared of what he’d do to me.’ Jim looked at his feet, ashamed. ‘Guess I’m a coward too.’
Cade saw Spex’s expression change. Was that pity he saw? It was gone quickly, Spex preferring to jog ahead rather than continue the conversation. If Cade was struggling to forgive Jim, who had never done him a direct wrong, how hard would it be for Spex?
They passed into the shadow of the cave, walking down the black, echoing tunnel. Scott’s voice drifted from the darkness.
‘You never answered my question. Do we have a plan, or are we just waiting?’
Cade had spent the journey pondering that very issue.
‘I’m assuming the attack will be coming from outside the walls, if the bone fields are any indication,’ he said, thinking aloud. ‘It’s safe to say we’ll be manning the ramparts, but all we’ll be able to do with these swords is stab at anything climbing up. Plus, it’s too wide for the thirteen of us to defend effectively. It’s not going to be easy.’
‘Well, don�
�t sugarcoat it,’ Scott groaned. ‘Tell us what you really think.’
‘Quintus has a sling,’ Cade said, hoping his next idea sounded as good as it did in his head. ‘And he’s a crack shot with it. There’s plenty of ammo for him in the armoury, and slings are easy enough to make. Maybe he can teach us how to use them.’
‘I can’t even throw a football,’ Spex moaned.
‘We just need to manage a few volleys before they start climbing the walls,’ Cade said with as much confidence as he could muster. ‘If we even kill more than one of them, it’ll be worth it.’
‘Whatever “they” turn out to be,’ Amber muttered from the darkness.
Cade ploughed on. ‘Even if the slings don’t work, we should drop rocks on them when they reach the walls,’ he said, remembering what he had read about siege warfare. ‘We should pile as many as we can on top of the ramparts.’
It wasn’t boiling oil, but it was better than nothing.
Finch’s voice echoed back. ‘That’s it? Rocks? Great plan, genius.’
Cade gritted his teeth but ignored the jibe. He didn’t have much else to work with.
Soon they emerged into the dusk light. The others trooped into the Keep, but Cade had other ideas. He headed straight for the wall to inspect it, climbing up one of the two sets of stairs built near each end.
To his dismay, they were in worse shape than he remembered, the mortar crumbling beneath his feet. The top of the wall was not much better, with most of the crenulations missing to leave an uneven rampart that reached his waist. The platform’s inner edge was a dangerous place to walk too, the stones so loose that they could come away and send someone tumbling down with them.
But Cade wasn’t looking at the wall any more. Because, at the end of the canyon, a blue forcefield now stretched between the bone fields and the desert. And waiting on the other side was a horde of crouched figures, casting long shadows in the glow of the setting sun.
Vipers.
THIRTY-NINE
There were as many as a hundred of them by Cade’s guess, though he had little time to confirm it before it was too dark to count, the only source of light being the moons above and the soft glow of the forcefield. Now the thirteen stood on the wall, watching them in the gloom of night.
Contender: The Chosen: Book 1 Page 20
